Pages

Sunday, 11 May 2014

SCIENCE

Photo via The Independent.

Lucy Hunter Johnston in The Independent: "Fear of a robot taking over your job is growing. A One Poll
survey just out says that 31 per cent of us suffer from this anxiety.
Then again, it’s not all bad news when it comes to man and machine: 17
per cent of us would also happily hop into bed with them. It’s
a statistic that raises a number of questions. Is sex with a robot
cheating? Would there be an age of consent? But perhaps the least
obvious is: what do the other 83% have against the idea?" Interesting, huh? Read full article in The Independent. E.T.P. 8'

Photo: The Procrastinator (some) Times.

ELECTRONIC cigarettes made their American debut seven years
ago. People have bickered about them ever since. Some praise
e-cigarettes—which deliver a vapour with nicotine, but no tobacco—for
helping traditional smokers to quit. Others fret that they will promote
nicotine addiction and reduce the stigma of smoking, which in America
now ranks somewhere between theft and public indecency.
On April 24th American regulators stepped in (as the
European Parliament did in February). The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) proposed rules for e-cigarettes. These would, among other things,
ban sales to children and require firms to list ingredients, include
warnings that nicotine is addictive and register new products with the
agency. The FDA did not propose banning flavours or advertising, but may
do so in future. It will accept comments on its plan until July 9th.
Even after it finalises this set of rules, it may later issue further
restrictions. The Economist. E.T.P. 4'